In
October of last year, one of the students I have been tutoring for a
number of years graduated. This is a very proud moment for me that
fills me with a massive amount of respect for that individual and
their achievement. The demands of the course of study she has
undertaken is not for the faint hearted.

When
I think of all the students I have tutored over more than a decade,
something stands out about each one of them. One of the things that
grabbed my attention with respect to the recently graduated student
was a question she answered in the first paper I marked for her. She
put the idea forward that, to truly be holistic and gain health we
needed to heal the society we lived in. I don't agree with this
fully because I believe that our perception of events and situations
has as much to do with the way they affect our health as the events
themselves. None the less, I do believe there is still a massive
amount of truth in that statement....certainly so much so that I have
been pondering on it more and more. It has brought me to a
realisation how badly and sadly we are failing as human beings. I
feel at this stage of our existence we should be evolving into
something higher.

One
of the problems is we have institutionalised medicine, and in so
doing institutionalised our perception of health. This has been done
in a very aggressive and effective way. I know this because, as part
of my holistic approach with patients, I have to spend a good amount
of time countering this perception with regards to what health
is?....what causes disease....? and what is the solution? The answer
to these questions lies not in the experts who run the institutions
but greatly within ourselves and the communities we live in....and within the
conditions we collectively allow to exist, unchallenged, on a daily
basis.

The
primary cause of the bulk of diseases can be found within our very
social fabric. It is for this reason that health care must be
re-introduced back into the community and be made everyone's
responsibility, to believe in and live a lifestyle that promotes
health. To support and encourage each other in this process. This
does not need to wait on government initiative to start but can take
shape through community cooperation and organisation. In fact, it is
far more likely to proceed at a pace if government is kept out of the
process.

This
is the socialisation, rather than the institutionalisation, of
medicine

If
we go way back in time to my early beginnings, training to be a
herbalist, I can draw from Maslow's hierarchy of needs. At the top
of that list is Air, Water and Food. These are the primary top three
factors on that list needed to maintain life and health, yet all
three are compromised to some degree within our present society,.

If
we skip Air and Water for now, so as not to turn this into a major
work, the nature of food alone, on so many levels, has become a
source of great concern with respect to its impact on health.

Food
additives, processed and denatured food, poor soil quality,
herbicides and pesticides are all well known concerns. However, the
role of food takes on other dimensions in our pursuit of health.

The
preparation of food has, in many households, become a chore that
needs to be got out of the way as quickly as possible. I am not
unrealistic about the demands put on people's time...and there are
evenings or days when you reach for a more simplistic solution to
satisfy that need. But a simple option does not have to be an
unhealthy option. This practice could be tempered by engaging more
with food. We can bypass the nasty additives, in part, by growing
and preparing our own food. This requires land, either in the form
of having a decent sized garden or having access to an allotment.
Sadly, with the massive surge of home building many of the new
properties do not offer significant land to have some degree of
control over the origins and nature of our food. I do not think this
is an accident. Deny people the resources and they will be entirely
dependent on what is offered to them to survive.

Part
of this problem is fed by an ever growing population. Population is
a factor that will have more and more impact on our quality of life
and thus our health as time goes on. This needs to be put at the top
of the political agenda and a number decided that will maintain as
much freedom and life quality for humans, animals and plant life in
this country. Personally, I think we have already gone well beyond
that number, so our task would be looking at ways to see a natural
reduction in our population.

An
appreciation and a desire to engage in cooking and creating healthy
meals needs to be part of the cornerstone of our primary education
and onwards. As a culture we need to embrace the growing and making
of good healthy food.

Last
year I gave a talk to a WI group out in Shropshire. Prior to my talk
they were conducting the tail end of their monthly meeting. I
believe they were voting on a nationwide initiative to tackle
loneliness. The WI is a massive network with the potential to do
great good by bringing about change. Before I started my
presentation I presumptively asked if they would consider tying this
initiative into food by reinstating the community meal one or two
times a week. My experience is, not only are many elderly people
lonely but they are also dying too young from poor nutrition that
often occurs when someone finds themselves on their own. Cooking for
one and eating alone has no appeal. I believe it was Aristotle who
long ago recognised this and promoted the idea of community meals
where good food and good decision making would take place.
Personally, heated discussions about policy, around the dinner table
, sounds like a recipe for indigestion. However, creating a
community meal, as was often seen through the church or at the
village hall, would provide company and good nutrition for all those
who participated. It would give them something to look forward to
during the week...and improve their overall physical and mental
health.